Shopping at Mall of America
Seriously....where do I start??? I have to say this was one of my favorite vacations...really a dream come true, spending 6 days together with 5 incredibly talented and amazing women in a beautiful house on a lake, what more can you ask for?
I spent the week with Anita from My Papercraft World, Ardyth from Maskerade, Bev from Happy Dance, Darnell from djkardkreations and Geri from Manitoba Stamper. You can click on the links to their blogs to see what wonderful stories they plan to share.
We came up with at name for our group...BABES - Benevolent Association of Beloved & Esteemed Stampers.
Our first meal together....we ate at Buca di Beppo's and what a wonderful meal and so much food left over...we ate off of it for days and it was just as good!
Our home for the week...so incredible to be right on the lake. We all seemed to click right away, like we had been friends for years...so fun to meet your blogging friends in real life and have them be just the way you thought from everything you had been reading. We did a little bit of everything with the exception of cooking and watching television (other than watching the World Series two nights). So nice to spend the time just crafting and being yourself, sharing a very large dinning table...so many wonderful memories.
At times we laughed...really laughed and so hard some of us had tears streaming down our cheeks and times where the laughter would not stop...just so much fun. At time we were very serious, solving the worlds problems. Then we shopped...lots of shopping, everyone searching for the elusive VersaFine ink pad in Black! I learned some new stamping techniques, we made cards...lots and lots of cards, did a few projects, ate at some fabulous places, I love the 90 second pizza at Punch's, thank you for the suggestion Miss Bev, this place did not disappoint (we need one much closer to my house). Geri was so sweet to share her chicken wings with me one night, you must ask her to share the story.
At times we laughed...really laughed and so hard some of us had tears streaming down our cheeks and times where the laughter would not stop...just so much fun. At time we were very serious, solving the worlds problems. Then we shopped...lots of shopping, everyone searching for the elusive VersaFine ink pad in Black! I learned some new stamping techniques, we made cards...lots and lots of cards, did a few projects, ate at some fabulous places, I love the 90 second pizza at Punch's, thank you for the suggestion Miss Bev, this place did not disappoint (we need one much closer to my house). Geri was so sweet to share her chicken wings with me one night, you must ask her to share the story.
The rest of my post will be in photo's...I selected a few of my favorite from our trip, hope you enjoy them. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by...enjoy your day!
Mall of America
Fancy dinner out at Sul Lago
View across Prior Lake
Messy table that never had to be cleaned off until the end of the week...
Snowflake...our mascot.
Creek Water Memories
Lunch at Punch's
WOW! Wonderful post, Kim. Wonderful memories. You are such a delight, and I'm thrilled beyond measure that we both LOVE baseball. Will you root for my Cubbies if they ever make it to the World Series, lol! Had a great time...Bev
ReplyDeleteYou've got a couple here that I hadn't seen! What a great time - it was so wonderful to get to know you better!
ReplyDeleteLooks like so much fun, off to visit the next babe x
ReplyDeleteKim, I loved reading your post and seeing all these fabulous (and some new to me) photo's! What wonderful, happy memories, my friend ... it was such a joy to share the week with you! Hugs, Anita :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent recap of our marvelous adventure, Kim! Although I knew you prior to Prior (lol) Lake, it was awesome to get to know you so much better during our convention! Thank you for the memories, for my new darling purse notebook, and, especially, for my new coin purse!! Hope to see you soon! Mwah! Darnell
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness Kim a fantastic post! You are all such a beautiful group of ladies inside and out, what wonderful photos you took. I love the view across the lake photo--gorgeous!! I can only imagine how much fun you all had, wish i was there. I am so happy that I had an opportunity to Facetime with you all!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSuch awesome pictures of the six of you ... looks like you have been lifelong friends, not just meeting up for the first time IRL. And now you are lifelong friends ... how wonderful is that??!! Gorgeous views from your lake house ... and looks like you all brought lots of supplies -- so fun to share! Thanks for sharing your trip and pictures with us!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like sooooo much fun, ladies!! Thank you for sharing with all of us!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch wonderful photos of what looked like a fabulous week! Your location looked amazing too. Can't wait to see the photos of your next trip (no doubt you'll do it again!)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you all had such a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteOh you gals are all just so cute! Looks like a wonderful time, TFS!!
ReplyDeleteTruly a dream come true...what a fantastic group of ladies all sharing the same love of stamping!! Loved the pictures you shared Kim!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all the gorgeous pictures and fun stories! You picked a stunning place to get together!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all congrats on your teams win!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I cant believe you got to get together with all these wonderful ladies.......looks like sooo much fun! Gorgeous photos. Love the white squirrel...amazing ! Love your orange coat / blazer.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos! What an amazing adventure! I can tell you all are having a marvelous time and you're so lucky to get a chance to spend this time together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic time you guys had. I am so glad that the week turned out to be just as wonderful as you hoped. Your pictures are just fantastic, and I feel like I was a little bit there--like a fly on the wall.
ReplyDeleteI'm finally getting around to visiting all our blogs! YOUR PICTURES ARE AMAZING!!! I hope you don't mind, but I copied the "view across Prior Lake" photo to my post as well...and made sure to give you credit for not only being an incredibly talented card artist but also a gal that snaps an awesome picture! I love, LOVE, LOVE the pic of all of us standing outside the car! Might have to do the same with that one!
ReplyDeleteIt was an absolute pleasure meeting you Kim! Your laughter is contagious, your crafting skills are amazing, your sincere kindness is heart warming and you are funny as ever! I can hardly wait for the next trip. XX OO
Gorgeous photos of this amazing get together! I love that you were all able to dream, make a plan and make it happen. Thanks for sharing...I love the photo at Sul Lago, Anita and Darnell's face and hand poses are exactly how I would have imagined and warmly captured in the pic. You are a sweet looking bunch and it really does look like you have been lifelong friends! Wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteSuper location, lovely looking house and some fantastic friendships strengthened with a whole pile of crafting together. What more could you want? Jealous? Me? Nooooooo! Okay, that last part's not true!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Sarn xxx
Looks like you had so much fun sharing your love of stamping and creating lifetime friendships.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Kim. You all were so lucky to be able to spend this time getting to know each other IRL.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your adventure! HOW TOTALLY fun. that view from the house is amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the details of your trip, Kim! The warmth, joy & friendship shine through the photos. It looks like everything was perfect - the location, weather, food & creativity!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, it's as if I know you all! Such a great time together, bet you never stopped! What a lovely passion you all (we) share!
ReplyDeleteKim, the photos and stories you BABES have written about your epic, dream-of-a-lifetime adventure are inspiring, delightful, heart-warming and heart-melting! I see six amazing friends crafting up a storm and building a strong, solid foundation of companionship, with LOVE infused in every moment you spent together. Friends forever, indeed! I consider myself blessed that each one of you is part of my life, and it is all the richer because of that! My dream: at some future point to be part of this extraordinarily special group when you meet 'in real life' once again. Mega-watt smile and heart singing with joy...Thank you for inviting us to be part of this momentous event!
ReplyDeleteHugs~c
What a fabulous adventure, Kim! Spectacular setting, wonderful friends, what more could you ask for? Oh yes, lots of crafty stash!
ReplyDeleteWow!! what a wonderful opportunity! I can't get over that stunning photograph you captured across the lake!! You gals must have felt like you won the friend lottery! : ) Thanks so much for sharing : )
ReplyDeletePatti
Thank you for sharing your amazing week.
ReplyDeleteOh it looks, and sounds, like you all had a most fabulous getaway, Kim! The location looks idyllic and the company amazing!
ReplyDeleteWell, what a wonderful week you all had and I bet you never wanted it to end!! So funny how you can get to know people thru emails and blogs and you just know that if you ever met face to face, you would get along instantly. What a brilliant idea to get together and actually make it all happen, must have been a lot of organising over the past twelve months but so worth it. Love all the photos and that squirrel is super gorgeous. I keep thinking 'what did you pack?'. So fantastic to be able to use each others craft supplies and learn new ideas. A whole week of just card making and fun sounds like heaven and bet your already planning your next get together!!
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine a better week! Thanks for sharing your pictures, Kim!
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